cavare — Italian conjugation
to dig
Indicative
Present (Presente) Regular
The presente covers habits, ongoing situations, and plans about to start — much like English “I study” and “I am studying”. One present tense does both in Italian.
Lavora da casa tre giorni a settimana.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | cavo | I dig |
| tu | cavi | you dig |
| lui/lei | cava | he/she/it digs |
| noi | caviamo | we dig |
| voi | cavate | you (pl.) dig |
| loro | cavano | they dig |
Simple past (Passato remoto) Regular
The passato remoto tells a completed, narrative past, especially in the south and in literature. The passato prossimo is the normal spoken past in the north, so you choose register and region, not a difference in time alone.
Quella sera arrivò tardi, senza alibi.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | cavai | I dug |
| tu | cavasti | you dug |
| lui/lei | cavò | he/she/it dug |
| noi | cavammo | we dug |
| voi | cavaste | you (pl.) dug |
| loro | cavarono | they dug |
Imperfect (Imperfetto) Regular
The imperfetto is for incomplete past actions, context, and repeated or habitual situations without a clear end. The passato prossimo, not the remoto, is its usual “event” partner in speech.
Da bambina passavo le estati al mare.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | cavavo |
| tu | cavavi |
| lui/lei | cavava |
| noi | cavavamo |
| voi | cavavate |
| loro | cavavano |
Conditional (Condizionale) Regular
The condizionale is for polite “would you…”, first-condition hypotheticals, and reported future from a past point of view. The classic if-chain is se + imperfetto → condizionale.
Potresti alzare un poco la voce?
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | caverei | I would dig |
| tu | caveresti | you would dig |
| lui/lei | caverebbe | he/she/it would dig |
| noi | caveremmo | we would dig |
| voi | cavereste | you (pl.) would dig |
| loro | caverebbero | they would dig |
Future (Futuro semplice) Regular
The futuro semplice is for predictions and far decisions. In speech you often hear the present (with a time adverb) or a paraphrase, and a famous trick is the futuro di probabilità for a present guess: saranno le tre.
Domani partiremo all'alba.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | caverò | I will dig |
| tu | caverai | you will dig |
| lui/lei | caverà | he/she/it will dig |
| noi | caveremo | we will dig |
| voi | caverete | you (pl.) will dig |
| loro | caveranno | they will dig |
Present perfect (Passato prossimo) Regular
The passato prossimo is the workhorse preterit-like past in the north and in everyday Italian: avere/essere + participle, essere for reflexives, motion, and other change-of-state patterns.
Siamo andati a piedi, poi abbiamo preso l'autobus.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | ho cavato | I have dug |
| tu | hai cavato | you have dug |
| lui/lei | ha cavato | he/she/it has dug |
| noi | abbiamo cavato | we have dug |
| voi | avete cavato | you (pl.) have dug |
| loro | hanno cavato | they have dug |
Pluperfect (Trapassato prossimo) Regular
The trapassato prossimo is “further in the past than another past” — the Italian pluperfect. It pairs with a main past clause to mark sequence.
Avevamo già mangiato quando suonò il telefono.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avevo cavato | I had dug |
| tu | avevi cavato | you had dug |
| lui/lei | aveva cavato | he/she/it had dug |
| noi | avevamo cavato | we had dug |
| voi | avevate cavato | you (pl.) had dug |
| loro | avevano cavato | they had dug |
Conditional perfect (Condizionale passato) Regular
The condizionale passato is for unreal or missed past results and often appears with se + trapassato prossimo in the protasis.
Avrei accettato, se mi avessero avvisato in tempo.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | avrei cavato |
| tu | avresti cavato |
| lui/lei | avrebbe cavato |
| noi | avremmo cavato |
| voi | avreste cavato |
| loro | avrebbero cavato |
Future perfect (Futuro anteriore) Regular
The futuro anteriore says something will already be over before a still-later future, or, like the French, can express a logical guess about a past result.
Entro le cinque, avrà già lasciato l'ufficio.
| Pronoun | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| io | avrò cavato | I will have dug |
| tu | avrai cavato | you will have dug |
| lui/lei | avrà cavato | he/she/it will have dug |
| noi | avremo cavato | we will have dug |
| voi | avrete cavato | you (pl.) will have dug |
| loro | avranno cavato | they will have dug |
Subjunctive
Present subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente) Regular
The congiuntivo presente is required after many verbs and fixed phrases of will, fear, purpose, and doubt. Impersonal and semi-impersonal triggers (è importante che) also force the subjunctive mood.
Penso che sia la scelta giusta.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | cavi |
| tu | cavi |
| lui/lei | cavi |
| noi | caviamo |
| voi | caviate |
| loro | cavino |
Imperfect subjunctive (Congiuntivo imperfetto) Regular
The congiuntivo imperfetto is the past of the congiuntivo system after a past matrix clause and in se + congi. imperf. → condizionale with unreal conditions.
Se avessi più tempo, viaggerei ogni mese.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| io | cavassi |
| tu | cavassi |
| lui/lei | cavasse |
| noi | cavassimo |
| voi | cavaste |
| loro | cavassero |
Other forms
Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo) Regular
The affirmative imperativo reuses the tu form as 3sg for -are verbs, while other conjugations use the normal tu present. It is the direct command register.
Raccontami com'è andata l'esame.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | cava |
| lui/lei | cavi |
| noi | caviamo |
| voi | cavate |
| loro | cavino |
Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular
Negative commands use non + full infinitive in modern Italian, which is a distinctive rule compared to other Romance languages. Polite or indirect “please don’t” can still soften the tone in context.
Non aprire quella finestra, per favore.
| Pronoun | Italian |
|---|---|
| tu | non cavare |
| lui/lei | non cavi |
| noi | non caviamo |
| voi | non cavate |
| loro | non cavino |